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For 38 years, Paul Marchand was one of the most ardent and successful disability policy advocates working on behalf of The Arc, United Cerebral Palsy and the entire intellectual and developmental disability community. Upon his retirement in January, it was obvious that our organizations would suffer if we did not immediately cultivate advocates of his caliber to eventually fill his shoes. We also couldn’t imagine letting someone like Paul walk away without doing something significant to celebrate his storied career.

With Paul’s blessing, we created The Paul Marchand Internship Fund to establish a policy fellowship supporting young people pursuing careers in public policy advocacy for people with I/DD. The Fund will help enable future professionals to work at an approved site in Washington, D.C. by offsetting travel expenses, helping with cost-of-living expenses or other means of assistance.

The goal is to raise $50,000 for one or two fellows in 2011. To kick off a campaign for the fellowship fund and to honor Paul in person in the company of his colleagues and friends, there will be a special reception during the annual Disability Policy Seminar in D.C. in which Paul has always played a large role. We invite you to join us Tuesday evening, February 15 in support of The Paul Marchand Internship Fund. Find out more about the Fund and The Disability Policy Seminar at www.disabilitypolicyseminar.org or www.thearc.org.

Since 2003, the Disability Policy Collaboration (DPC) has been the shared public policy arm of UCP and The Arc. The DPC focuses on federal legislative and regulatory efforts to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families.

Since its inception, the DPC has been a vital force in shaping federal legislation to advance the lives of people with disabilities and, most recently, played a significant role in the passage of Health Care Reform as well as Rosa’s Law.

With the announced retirement of Staff Director Paul Marchand in December 2010, the two organizations began a reassessment of the collaboration to determine the most effective way to engage in advocacy and policy efforts in the future.

Effective April 1, 2011, the DPC will cease and each organization will resume its own public policy program while continuing to join together on select projects as well as actively participate as members of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD).

“We are proud of all that the DPC has accomplished over its eight years, pushing for civil rights protections and public policies that provide support to ensure fair and full citizenship for people with disabilities,” said Stephen Bennett, President and Chief Executive Officer of United Cerebral Palsy. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with The Arc, both as a member of CCD and through shared, targeted projects. We believe that our new approach will only expand the number and strength of advocates striving to create a life without limits for people with disabilities.”

“The efforts of the DPC have had an immeasurable impact on federal legislation and regulatory efforts that improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families,” said Peter V. Berns, CEO of The Arc. “As we move forward, The Arc and UCP will continue to be vigorous advocates for people with disabilities and to create opportunity in every aspect of their lives.”